Anything but Blue
by Bruteaous
Summary: The Bebop Crew get themselves in over their heads…again. A little bit of  Faye/Gren .
1. A Rush of Blood to the Head

_**Anything but Blue:**_

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not claim to own _Cowboy Bebop_ in anyway.

_**1: A Rush of Blood to the Head**_

_The Frisky Lady _was a bar on the upside of the Martian landscape. However, it wasn't an upscale establishment, but a hole in the wall pit stop for the dregs of interstellar society and had been the man hideout in plain sight of some of the most notorious of wanted criminals since the early days of terraforming. Very few people without a substantial price on their heads walked through those sliding electric doors leading into the place and nearly everyone from Earth to Neptune knew what would be waiting for them behind those doors if they did: death.

The inside of _The Frisky Lady _was badly lit and what little light there was, was dimmed by the rise of smoke hovering around the bodies dealing at the bar or drinking beer at the billiards tables.

"Hey, Fernandez, pull the stick out of your ass and move it, we're thirsty over here!" Yelled a voice by the door.

"You boys must be new here. There's no table service," The bartender said calmly. "So if you want something you have to come up here and order it yourself."

"Fuck that!"

The voice belonged to a young man, thin, short with a villainous goatee and four gold earrings in both ears. He appeared as a shadow through the smoke and leaned over the bar counter like he owned the place. The thin man was followed by a group of companions, all similarly dressed, all wearing long overcoats and sunglasses to hide their eyes.

"You know who I am, Fernandez?" asked the thin man, "I know who you are, but do you know who I am?"

The blonde man didn't miss a beat, polishing a glass in his hand slowly as he spoke, "Edo Yenrai, son of Mao Yenrai, Capo to the Red Dragon Syndicate."

"Very good, man. I got to hand it to you. For a blind fuck up you're not so bad."

Fernandez set the clean glass down behind the counter with the others and slung the cloth he had been using over his shoulder. "Thank you," he said evenly.

"Yeah, yeah, now I'll have a tequila sunrise and my friends here will have four heady Mickeys and two brain fizzlers on the rocks."

Fernandez nodded and went about mixing the drinks without a word. He wasn't a tall man, but not a short one either and his hair was greased back over his head as slick as horse's fur beneath a saddle. A Thoroughbred, actually wouldn't be a bad analogy to what he was: a man of good breeding rotting in the shit with everyone else, but then again it'd been his own fault, hadn't it? Ah, well, shit happened. Fernandez closed his eyes. One had to roll with the punches.

"What is taking you so long, man?" Edo wasn't talking to his companions anymore, instead the focus of his beady little eyes was solely on Fernandez, "I could have had a woman, a cig, and a decent meal in all the time it's taking you to mix three simple types of cocktails, you know that, corn pone?"

Fernandez opened his eyes and for the first time, properly sized up the man in front of him. Edo Yenrai was a stick of a man who appeared physically to have no attributes any more threatening than an undersized puppy. However, there was a shade of stubble on his chin and a shadow in his eyes that promised it could, no would, someday be something more. But it was just a promise, from a boy with a name that people respected, who probably hadn't ever served prison time, or even killed someone yet. He was a puppet and Fernandez wasn't a man to be intimidated by a puppet dancing around on its own strings. Fernandez stopped making the drinks and set them down on the counter casually. Edo narrowed his eyes at this and his rowdy group of friends grew quiet.

"What's the holdup man?" One of them said after a few seconds.

Fernandez looked their leader in his beady little black eyes and asked in an even voice, "If you found out one day that you could have anything you wanted would it take away the thrill of having it, knowing that you could finally possess everything you've ever desired?"

Edo's expression became confused then angry, "Hey, how stupid are you? Are you retarded or something—"

Edo Yenrai's words died on an uneven current of red liquid and gurgled themselves into nothingness as their owner slumped forward onto the bar counter with a thud. There was a flash of silver behind the bar and the body of a knife disappeared back into its arm holder. Fernandez blinked and reached for a cloth to wipe a spot of blood off of two of the glasses he'd wiped clean only moments earlier.

* * *

><p><em>The Frisky Lady <em>closed its doors for the night at 3am and didn't reopen until near noon the next day. After every last bounty-head and common pickpocket had been forced out, the bouncers would come in to collect their pay for the day. Employment at the _Lady _was such that it was a day by day trial basis no matter how long someone had worked there. Bouncers and the general help weren't hired on the shoulders of their permanent records so all types had held a position there over the years: thieves, pickpockets, bounty hunters, ex-cops, murders, rapists, and syndicate members were among the usual guys _The Frisky Lady_ owed a debt to every early morning and Fernandez was the man who paid.

Hart, one of the bouncers, approached the bar and sat down. He was of a large solid build as most bouncers were and was naturally bald at twenty-eight. His skin was rashly tanned as if he'd spent a little too much time in the Martian badlands or had been a windswept veteran of the conflict on Titan. He'd escaped from the high security prison satellite Brobdingnag and had been thrown off course by a rogue navigation unit on his ship eventually drifting to Mars. Like many proven criminals, Hart had changed his name after returning to the grid so it was hard to know exactly who he had been beforehand, but wasn't that the case with anyone. New name or old one, who could remember that person they used to be?

Hart rubbed the fatigue from his eyes.

"Been a long day eh Fernandez? Between Yenrai's boy and the local riffraff, we sure got in some honest money of it." He said. "Think I could be using my pay now. There are a couple brothels I need to spend it in on the way home, if you catch my meaning."

Fernandez nodded and punched the security code into the small safe box behind the counter. The little computer chirped in recognition and the lid opened with a flush of air like a cooler full of dry ice. Inside, a number of plastic cards were organized into individual slots. Fernandez pushed a button and one of the cards popped up. He typed in a few more numbers and handed the card to Hart.

Hart stuffed the card into his coat and sauntered toward the doors, "Thanks, Doc. See you in the afternoon."

The other three who had worked that night were also paid off before Fernandez grabbed his things and locked up. The walk to his apartment building was a short one if taken off of the main streets. Three back alleyways and one side street brought him to Kentari Plaza where his sixth floor apartment was situated. He unlocked the door, called the elevator, and by the time he was in his apartment he knew it was closer to 4:30 than he would've liked it to be. Sighing tiredly, Fernandez set his keys down on a table in the living room and peeled off his overcoat.

The consistent beep, beep of health monitors could be heard coming from the spare bedroom. It was the constant music of the apartment that made him glad to leave it every morning, but it was unavoidable. The electronic drone let him know he was alive in a different way that the snow pattering down on his head and shoulders did when he walked out in the city. It let him know how fragile life was how even the most vigilant, the most worthy of their lives could lose them.

Fernandez walked into the doorway of the spare bedroom and clicked on the light. The bed and the gaunt body connected to the life support system on it became visible. A wire support had been placed over the emaciated form to keep the sheets off of it. Voluntary breathing was something that had just started up again this week and was the one thing the body didn't need a machine to provide. Otherwise, the stranger was a mechanically motivated ghost with no name and no prospects. Fernandez wasn't known for taking in strays, but in this case he'd made an exception. Why, he wasn't quite sure himself yet, but the truth would reveal itself to him soon enough.

_Continued..._


	2. Got to Begin Again

**_2: Got to Begin Again_**

_The atmosphere was hazy and the large expanse of skin that Faye's skimpy outfit permitted was misted with steam. The metal of the gun was pressed back against her bare collarbone as she snuck up to the wall next to the shower. Its occupant continued to wash undisturbed as if the sound of the rushing water over his body really was enough to drown out all of his worries, all of his cares. Faye's turquoise eyes narrowed as she prepared herself to apprehend him. In the back of her mind, a little part of her was trying to convince herself to put the gun down and go back into the next room, that what she'd heard on the answering machine had been a delusion, that this man couldn't possibly be in league with Vicious. He'd been so kind and brave and heroic…_

_Faye, get a grip! People like that and the things they do are fiction, She mentally chastised herself, this is the real world. People will lie, cheat, and use you for a woolong, no skin off their noses. You gotta fight to survive alone in this world._

_The decision made, Faye took a deep breath and flung herself forward. Desperately, she made a ferocious grab for the shower curtain and threw the light purple fabric roughly to the side while raising the pistol in her other hand. It took a few seconds for her mind to put together the conflicting messages traveling from her eyes through her nerves to the brain, but when it all finally clicked for her, Faye hesitated and her eyes opened as wide as they could go._

_What? A Woman?_

"Faye, Faye. Faye, Faye puff, puff smoke, smoke, Faye, Faye!"

Faye jolted into a grudging wakefulness on one of the sofas in the Bebop's common area. First the bright overhead lights came into focus. Then a looming coffee colored shadow whose orange hair was darkened by the overhead lamps appeared, grinning from cheekbone to cheekbone.

"Morning, up, up, Faye, Faye."

Edward was balancing from foot to foot on the floor above her like some sort of sugar fed monkey. Beside Ed, Ein sat staring at Faye in that way dogs sometimes do, like they can see into your soul or something even when all they want is a little something in the bottom of their food bowl. She looked away. It made her uneasy.

After a few seconds of this abuse, Faye groaned and flung one of her arms across her eyes, "Go away, Ed. What does it take for a girl to get a little beauty rest around here?"

"Well, sleeping in your own bed might be a good place to start."

Faye uncovered her eyes enough to send a glare at the man who was sitting on the sofa on her opposite side. Jet shrugged his broad shoulders and went back to reading the computer file in front of him.

"You asked," he defended solemnly.

The common room was silent for a couple of minutes then Faye sighed loudly.

"We haven't had a lead in months. I'm starting to get bored with this dump," Faye said, then her stomach gurgled loudly earning her the undivided attention of the rest of the group, "And hungry."

Edward plopped back on the coffee table, all of her former energy expended. She stretched out beside the computer hugging her unhappy middle tightly for all it was worth.

"Edward wants food too," she said.

Ein whimpered sympathetically.

"Cut it out you three. We're not too far from Ganymede now," Jet rationalized going back to his computer. "Spike said he'd fly out there as soon as we came within range. Until then I'm afraid we're all just going to have to stick it out."

"Easy for you to say, you're a man, but what'll become of a thin gorgeous gal like me? I'll waste away," Faye said dramatically.

"Waste away," Ed echoed pitifully.

"I doubt that," Spike said, walking down the stairs into the room.

Faye sat up on her elbows and scowled. "No one asked you," she snipped.

"Well, then maybe I'll just have to keep my opinions to myself," Spike said, fishing for a cigarette in his pocket then settling it into the corner of his mouth before he reached back into his pocket for the lighter.

Faye snorted, "Like that'll happen."

Spike shrugged his shoulders, lighting the cigarette and taking his first real drag off of the thing, "You're the one who likes to go on and on about how she's feeling all the time."

"At least I don't spend all of my time brooding over a girl who's not in my life anymore," Faye said indignantly.

Spike moved quickly reaching into his waistband for a gun which wasn't there. Then, almost as quickly, he rethought his position. Slowly, he lowered his hand back to his side and took a tense step forward.

"You take that back!" He shouted.

By this time Faye too had moved, throwing herself over the back of the couch and standing with it as a firm barrier between her and the rest of the room.

"Make me!" Faye challenged, setting her hands on her hips.

The loud clang of metal against metal made everyone in the room temporarily forget about their personal arguments as Jet's mechanical arm slammed a dent into the coffee table.

"Will you both knock it off! I can't think with all of this racket."

Twin voices answered accusingly back at him.

"He started it!"

"No, she started it!"

"Liar!"

"You're the liar!"

One of Jet's eyebrows twitched as he tried to retain control of the minor headache beginning to well up behind his eyes. Finally, it became too much. He stood and walked through the heated bickering, up the stairs, and into another room. Faye and Spike stopped arguing long enough to watch him leave. Then they started back in again.

"Look what you did!" Spike accused.

"What I did? Ugh! You're such an annoying brainless lunkhead…"

"Lunkhead, lunkhead!" Ed chorused.

"Be quiet, Ed!" Spike yelled, but without any real threat behind it.

Ed giggled loudly, Ein barked, and Faye laughed at Spike's frustration. Feeling maligned by the whole lot of them, Spike shoved his hands into his pockets roughly and turned his back on his comrades.

"Hm, women," he muttered as he strode into the hallway and turned a corner out of sight.

Faye plopped back down on the couch and comfortably folded her arms behind her head, content in her victory. She closed her eyes and as if it had somehow been waiting for her, an image of twin blue eyes, half open and intense came into her mind. They had been smiling down at her then and perhaps somewhere they still were. Faye sighed. Gren. That man drove her to distraction and not always in a good way. Now more than ever, she was convinced that there was no one like him in the entire solar system.

A high pitched hum came from the table beside her and Faye opened her eyes. Ed was sitting Indian style in front of the computer and flipping through screen after screen of smiley faces.

"Edward found you!" Ed squealed.

Faye sat up, intrigued by the possible smell of money, "What did you find?"

Ed pointed at the mug shot plastered over the smiling screen, "Him!"

Faye leaned forward and narrowed her eyes, reading the name below a picture of a pale, dark featured man, "Dominic Demirovic, huh? Who is he?"

"Edward knows, hmmm," Ed read on. "Wanted for extortion, theft, and murder on three planets."

Faye perked up at that and squeezed Ed's shoulder, "For how much?"

"300,000,000 Woolongs," Ed chirped helpfully.

In a fluid motion, Faye reached forward, scooped up Edward and twirled her around.

"300,000,000! Do you know what I could do with that kind of money?" Faye burst out excitedly, clutching Edward to her chest, "I could buy a mansion by the sea and have my every whim catered to by blond suntanned boys in speedos. And the best part is I'd never have to set foot on this hunk of junk ever again!"

"Um…Edward can't breathe!" Ed wheezed from between Faye's breasts.

"Oops." Faye unceremoniously dropped Ed on the floor and the kid squirmed to her feet. Faye leaned down to her and put her hand on her shoulder, "Now, Ed, I need you to promise not to tell Jet or Spike about this okay?"

"A secret? Faye, Faye, why keep it a secret Faye, Faye?"

"Um, because it's going to be a surprise, yeah that's it," Faye lied, coming up with the words as she went. "I'm going to drop down to Mars, nab this guy, and bring back all of the money. Guess how happy that would make everyone?"

"Edward supposes, but Edward thinks that Jet will also want to know where Faye, Faye has run off to all of the sudden…"

Faye waved the words away, "Nonsense, Ed, they'll be so excited when I come back with this guy Jet will forget he was even angry."

Edward thought for a bit then, "Alright, Edward will help. What about you, Ein?"

Ein barked and the deal was sealed. They were going to Mars.


End file.
